2011 August Health Care News

The August issue of Health Care News reports Vermont has become the first state to have a government-run health care monopoly, the result of a bill signed by Gov. Peter Shumlin in May. Detractors like Darcie Johnston of Vermonters for Health Care Freedom say the legislation “is very generic, without a lot of meat on it.”

Also in this issue:

Relationships between doctors and pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers will soon be under a microscope because of legislation forcing transparency about such relationships.

The Utah state legislature voted unanimously for shifting Medicaid to managed care, as did California. The trend is taking hold as states attempt to slow down the rise of Medicaid costs.